OPERA America draws on resources and expertise from within and beyond the opera field to advance a mutually beneficial agenda that serves and strengthens the field through programs in the following categories:

Creation: Artistic services that help artists and companies increase the creativity and excellence of opera productions, especially North American works;

Presentation: Opera company services that address the specific needs of staff, trustees and volunteers;

Enjoyment: Education, audience development and community services that increase all forms of opera appreciation.

New York City is home to the nation’s largest concentration of performing and creative artists, professional training institutions and music businesses. A majority of OPERA America’s Professional Company Members hold or attend auditions in New York City annually, and opera leaders from Europe and around the world are regular visitors.

In response to the pressing need for appropriate space in New York by members who suffered from the lack of good audition and work facilities in the city, OPERA America created the National Opera Center. The Opera Center serves many functions that support the artistic and economic vitality of the field by providing its constituents with a range and level of services never before possible.

OPERA America serves members across the entire opera field through research, publications and services in support of the creation, performance and enjoyment of opera. Our work is only possible with the generous support of donors dedicated to the future of opera in America.

Editor's Note: Aria Talk focuses not on the tried-and-true pieces you undoubtedly already know, but on somewhat off-the-beaten-track arias. The hope is that this music will prove a refreshing musical and interpretive change not only for you, the performer, but also for those hearing you in auditions.

While Sadko is seldom undertaken by non-Russian companies, certain individual episodes from the score are worth singers’ attention. These include the specialty numbers sung by the foreign merchants — tenor, baritone, and bass — in Act 2 (Tableau 4). Not nearly as familiar as the tenor’s world-famous Song of India is the bass’s Song of the Viking Guest, which would make for an imposing, knock-‘em-dead opening of any audition.

The title character, a singer of Novgorod who longs for adventure and riches, is scorned among his town’s citizens. On his travels, he discovers the magical King of the Ocean and is charmed by his daughter. She predicts that he will catch three golden fish and will travel to faraway realms. Later, before the citizens of Novgorod, Sadko does indeed catch the fish, to the town’s amazement. He then exhorts the men to accompany him on his adventures abroad. In deciding where he should go, he asks the three visiting merchants to sing about their lands. The Viking is first: He describes the stark landscape and stormy sea, declaring that his people were born in the sea and will die there. Their god is the great Odin, and they live courageously with powerful swords and sharp arrows, triumphing over their foes.

The bass is preceded by a massive orchestral buildup. As with so much Russian bass repertoire, sheer breadth of sound is the basic prerequisite. The aria is much less mellow and soulful in character than that of, say, Gremin in Eugene Onegin. The voice is challenged to find appropriately dramatic colors to present all the vivid images given in the text. Most of the aria sits in the lower-middle range. The final section does carry the voice significantly higher, but it can’t be at the cost of either tonal solidity or an equalized sound.

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All OPERA America facilities are handicapped accessible. The National Opera Center features ground-level entry with elevators to the venue. All spaces are wheelchair accessible, and modular seating can be arranged to accommodate wheelchair users for all programs and performances. Handicapped accessible restrooms are available on all floors.